Working tirelessly to prevent poverty... The Chagnon Foundation: one link in the chain

Message from Claude Chagnon,
President - We refuse to accept the inevitability of
poverty. In a society such as ours, it is unacceptable that many,
many children are still living and growing up in disadvantaged
conditions. The poverty that affects these children and their
families concerns all of us: theirs is not the only development
that is compromised. The development of our society as a whole is
at stake.

For the past 14 years, the Chagnon Foundation has been working
to prevent poverty, supporting the tireless work of the thousands
of organizations and individuals who work towards this goal
throughout Quebec. We want to do more than alleviate poverty. We
are focussed on the future, on the development and educational
success of the children of Quebec. We believe that childhood
development and educational success are the key to preventing
poverty and that they demand a long-term commitment in all spheres
of our society. Our primary goal is to recognize and acknowledge
the importance of the role and influence of parents, who are in the
best position to initiate the development of their children's full
potential.

We are optimistic. We know for a fact that hundreds of thousands
of parents and just as many educators, teachers, volunteers,
community organizations, professionals, administrators, social
entrepreneurs and members of the business community are passionate
about making very concrete contributions every day. Through their
actions, their decisions and their initiatives, they rally around
all our children, contributing to their development and supporting
their parents and families.

We in Quebec are fortunate to live in a society that has made
the conscious choice to invest in the welfare of all its citizens
by adopting effective public policies (like our daycare and
parental leave programs) that are the envy of many other states.
The Chagnon Foundation endorses this approach and recognizes the
importance of setting up and maintaining accessible, quality public
services, which is why we work in close cooperation with the
government of Quebec. We also believe that this vision of a more
just society that provides equal opportunities to all its children
will be achieved only if all the actors concerned work together,
particularly in underprivileged areas where children are growing
up.

Our experience and the lessons we have learned over the past 14
years have strengthened our conviction that there are many ways to
tackle a problem as complex as that of poverty, and that each of
those ways must be adapted to many different realities. That is why
we have created partnerships with the government: Avenir d'enfants,
Québec en Forme and Réunir Réussir. We share the governance of
those agencies with the government, pooling our resources to
support the initiatives of local partnership groups from civil
society. It is they-and parents-who are the best placed to know
what is needed for the children in their area.

We believe that is imperative to monitor all instances of social
inequality. In concrete terms, that means supporting organizations
that defend the rights of individuals living in poverty, give them
a voice and help them to play an active role in the social
debate.

All of this constitutes an extremely challenging project that is
of the utmost importance for Quebec. It is by constantly working to
combine all our efforts that we will create the human chain needed
to prevent poverty and ensure that the children of Quebec enjoy
success in school and in life.